Change of Heart
by Pipeline
Summary: In an Alternative Universe where Bad Luck doesn't exist Fujisaki meets Shuichi's younger sister and falls in love. But when it is time for him to meet the family sparks begin to fly between him and Shuichi instead...
1. Karaoke me into your heart

**Rating:** R (AU)  
**Pairing:** Shindou/Fujisaki  
**Disclaimer:** Gravitation and all its characters belong to Murakami Maki. But the plot is mine, of course.  
**A/N:** This is an all new story taking place in a world where Bad Luck does not exist and Nittle Grasper never made it big. I hope you will all enjoy it, and that you will be kind enough to drop me a line or two after reading. ;)

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**Karaoke me into your heart**

The clock struck twelve, and the princess had to catch her carriage back to the castle, leaving the prince to make his own way through the darkness and the brilliant starlight. Or so the fairytale often went - and Shindou Maiko was definitely worth a fairytale, for she was the sweetest girl he had ever met. But things rarely turn out that way in real life, something that Fujisaki Suguru one day had to learn the hard way.

He had started seeing Maiko after he saw her brilliant performance of Madonna's _Material Girl_ at a karaoke place he often frequented. She had been there with her friends, singing at the top of her voice, dancing, having fun - and he had fallen for her the very second he caught a glimpse of her through the semi-open door to their karaoke box. She had been standing on the table in the middle of the box, copying Madonna's every move from the music video, which Suguru happened to have seen once thanks to his cousin's weird taste in music, while her friends were laughing and clapping their hands to the rhythm.

Her energy and vibrant personality immediately caught on, and he soon found himself clapping along in the doorway, smiling broadly.

When the song ended, he clapped his hands even harder and gave a whistle. Maiko, stunned to find a strange and unexpected onlooker, turned around and met his eyes. And they were such a brilliant, clear blackish brown that he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of their beauty. At first he could not find anything to say, but merely stared at her beautiful, slightly wondering eyes. Then he just smiled and said, "Subarashii." _Brilliant._

That was two months ago, and Suguru only liked her more for every day that he got to spend together with her, despite her hot temper and stubbornness. It was his first experience of love, and it lifted him. Before falling in love he had been a very serious boy, never fully allowing himself to enjoy anything, really. He was all about working hard and getting high grades, his sight set on Todai and becoming a business man, like his cousin. But somewhere along the way he had forgotten to have fun. Maiko had opened that door for him, and thanks to her he hadn't been afraid to cross the threshold.

"Hey, let's do something crazy!" she'd say with a mischievous grin on her beautiful face, and he'd be lost in a second.

One day she called him when he was at school, and he fashionably snuck out of the classroom on the pretense that he needed to use the bathroom and immediately called her back. "Hey Maiko, what's up?" he asked, wondering what she had in mind this time. Often when she called him like this she was in the mood for a prank.

"Suguru-kun, I'd like you to meet my family," she said, and surprised him. "I know it's a bit sudden, but I've sort of been talking about you a lot at home, and my mother would really love it if you could come over for dinner tonight?"

He was silent for a while, wondering what he should answer. He did not know if he was ready to meet her family yet - they had only been going out for a little more than two months. But knowing Maiko she would not stop bugging him about it until he said yes, so maybe it was easiest to just agree and pray that everything went well that night. He also wondered what kind of person her father was, and what he thought of his precious little daughter having a boyfriend at the tender age of sixteen? "Um..." he mumbled, then cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course I'll come. I'd love to meet your parents. And, and your brother too, of course."

Maiko let out a shrill, girly shriek at the other end of the line, and he could imagine her jumping up and down out of sheer joy. "Yeeeeey! Oh, I'm so looking forward to introduce you to everyone! You won't regret it! And I'd bet anything that you and Oniichan will get along really well, I just have this feeling. You'll love him, I promise!"

And, oh, how right she was.

* * *

Suguru arrived at Maiko's house at 6.45, a quarter of an hour in advance. He had been very careful not to be late, because he wanted to make a good impression. His heart was beating really fast in his ribcage, his hands were sweaty and his breathing quick and shallow. He could not remember ever being this nervous before. It took him a couple minutes and many more steeling, deep breaths before he had collected the courage to ring the doorbell. Almost immediately running steps could be heard from the other side of the door, and moments later Maiko opened, a huge happy grin on her face. She had dressed up in a lovely peach dress for the occasion, and it really brought out the healthy tan of her skin. "Suguru-kun!" she exclaimed happily. "You're early! Come in, come in!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him over the threshold and shut the door behind them before he could even consider turning on his heel and escaping before it was too late.

"Y-you look beautiful," he stuttered nervously.

She nodded briefly, then turned around and yelled, "MOM! DAD! He's here!"

Maiko's parents appeared in a doorway and bowed politely as they said hello to him and apologized for their humble home. He bowed deeply to them and said, "I'm sorry for intruding", and took off his shoes before stepping into their home. "It is very nice to meet you both," he added and bowed again.

"It is very nice to meet you, too," Maiko's mother said with a friendly smile. "Dinner isn't quite ready yet, so maybe you kids could go upstairs and sy hello to Shuichi while I finish up down here? I'm sorry for the delay."

"Oh no, don't be, Okaasan," Suguru said, using the polite word for the mother of a family, "it is I who am early, so it is also I who should be apologizing."

Before they could entangle themselves in more apologies and excuses, Maiko grabbed hold of Suguru's arm and pulled him towards the stairs. He bowed shyly once more as they passed her parents on their way upstairs. Maiko stopped outside a room with a sign that said "KEEP OUT!" "This is my brother's room," she explained and knocked on the door.

"_Nani?_" came the reply from deep within.

"Niichan, it's me," Maiko said. "Suguru's here now, and I'd like you to meet him. May we come in?"

It was quiet for a few seconds. Then, "_Okay._"

Maiko opened the door and signalled to Suguru that he should follow her. He felt extremely nervous as he stepped into the brother's room, because he truly felt as if he was intruding on someone who would much rather be left alone. He was afraid that this brother of hers would be some sort of hardrocker, an overprotective older brother who did not at all agree to his baby sister dating and sort of anticipated a beating. But he soon understood that his fear was totally wasted.

Maiko's brother came up to them with a friendly, inviting smile on his face and his hand reached out, ready for Suguru to shake. "_Hajimemashite_, I'm Shuichi, Maiko's older brother," he said and forcefully shook Suguru's hand. "_Douzo yoroshiku._"

"Er, nice to meet you too, Shindou-san," Suguru said, still a bit nervous. "I'm Fujisaki Suguru, Maiko's boyfriend. _Yoroshiku._" The brother's hand was warm and firm, and Suguru gradually began to calm down.

"Fujisaki, eh? Do you like Pocky?" The brother offered him his strawberry pocky sticks.

Suguru hesitated, then took one. "Uh, thanks." He ventured a bit further into the room and surveyed it with curiosity. He almost instantly noticed the keyboard that was standing next to the desk and seemed to be plugged into the computer. At a closer glance he realized that Shindou-san had been in the middle of composing a song when they knocked on the door, because a music studio program was open on the computer. Interested, he turned to Shindou-san. "You play?" he asked, all nervousness gone now.

"Yeah," Shindou-san said and went over to him by the desk. "I've played the piano since I was five."

"Really? Me too!" Suguru said, pleasantly surprised.

Maiko put her hands on he hips and tilted her head back with pride. "Didn't I tell you that you guys would get along? Hell, I think you could even become best friends if you spent a little more time together. Tell you what: You guys go ahead and bond, and I'll go down check on Mom and the food. See ya in a bit!" And with those words she left Suguru alone with her brother, but he didn't really feel worried about it.

"Are you composing your own songs here?" he asked Shindou-san.

"Yes, I've been composing my own music for the past two years now. I have this friend who plays the guitar, he's really talented, and we've always sort of dreamt about starting a band and becoming famous and all that... I know, it's a silly dream, but I love music and it's sort of the only thing I know..." He shrugged.

"I don't think it's silly at all," Suguru assured him. "Quite the opposite. My cousin was in a band once - he was a keyboardist too, and he taught me how to play. He sort of projected his dream onto me even as a child, haha."

"Really? What were they called?"

"Nittle Grasper."

Shindou-san frowned. "Never heard of 'em."

Suguru laughed. "That's because they never succeeded to become famous. They stopped playing after only a year or two because the business was so harsh and they never really managed to debut." He carefully touched the keys on the keyboard. "May I?"

Shindou-san took a step back. "Sure. I'd love to hear you play."

Suguru took a deep breath and closed his eyes. All of a sudden he felt a bit nervous again. For some reason it was very important for him to impress Shindou-san with his music; he wanted Shindou-san to think him accomplished and astute. He wanted Shindou-san to like his music and be impressed by his musical skills, why he did not know. It was just important to show Shindou-san that he was a talented keyboardist, and that he absolutely was no amateur.

He set down his fingers on the keys and began to play, a tune that he had composed himself a while back and had only played when he had been alone up until now. He did not need to look down at the keys; his fingers went where they should on their own. He played without a single mistake, and a good thirty or forty seconds into the song he could feel Shindou-san leaning in closer to watch him as he automatically, easily slid his fingers over the keys, and it made Suguru stiffen a bit with pride. He was happy that he had succeeded at catching Shindou-san's attention.

"You're really good," Shindou-san said, obviously impressed, and leaned in even closer over Suguru's shoulder. Suguru could almost feel the heat from Shindou-san's body, that's how close he was. When the song was over he remained seated at the keyboard, waiting to see how Shindou-san would react. "Wow, Suguru!" Shindou-san exclaimed. "That was brilliant! Such a delicacy and frankness in the way you play... That was really something."

Suguru looked up at him with a wide smile. "Thanks. May I hear one of your songs now?"

As he listened to Shindou-san playing, he felt strangely at ease. It reminded him of how he felt when he was with Maiko, and that puzzled him. The song that Shindou-san played was upbeat and demanded not only a lot of concentration, but a lot of energy. Towards the end of the song he accidentally bumped his elbow against Suguru's arm, and Suguru jumped and knocked down a mug of pencils on the floor. Shindou stopped playing, Suguru apologized with flaming cheeks, and they both bent down to pick up the pencils. They went for the same pencil, and their fingers met.

A hot current passed through Suguru, and his heart began to beat harder and a little faster in his chest. What the hell was happening to him?! The touch of Shindou-san's hand was warm and nice, and he found himself longing to feel those fingers, those hands, on him in places he should guard very ardently lest he lose more than he was willing to lose... It scared him and invigorated him at the same time, which was incredibly confusing. He looked straight into Shindou-san's eyes and knew that the other boy was experiencing the same thing as he was, which didn't really make anything better. They looked deep into each other's eyes for a long, long time without wavering or even blinking. Shindou-san had a very strange eye color that looked almost purple up close. Suguru found himself completely mermerized by them. They were like pools of dark forest spring water under the setting sun...

Shindou-san moved his hand slightly so that it was now on top of Suguru's hand instead of their fingers just touching. He hesitated a while to evaluate the situation, probably to see how Suguru would react. Then he gently, very carefully moved his fingers over Suguru's hand.

A shiver passed through Suguru's body. Something was happening to him, and he knew that it was wrong. He was there because Maiko was his girlfriend and because she had wanted him to meet her family; he was not there to flirt with her brother! Yet it was happening.

Shindou-san's mouth was slightly open, and suddenly Suguru realized that the other boy was moving in closer, very slowly but yet coming in closer. He knew he had to stop him somehow, stop him from kissing him because that would be infidelity on his part, but he could not move. Slightly scared of himself he realized that he _didn't want_ to move away; he wanted to kiss Shindou-san. But that was preposterous! Not only had he just met Shindou-san, but he was also a guy! How could he want to kiss a guy?!

Footsteps outside the room broke the spell and they quickly broke away from each other, Suguru desperately clutching as many pencil as he could in his hands. The door opened and Maiko came in, a big smile on her face. "Hey guys! Dinner's ready."

The two boys stared at her in silence for a few seconds. Then Suguru said, "I knocked over some pencils." He held them up for her to see, as evidence to prove his statement.

She laughed. "That's nothing to worry about - right, Niichan? Come on, let's go downstairs and eat, I'm starving!"

The food was truly delicious, but Suguru could not make himself eat so much of it. He tried his best to at least finish one helping and ask for a second not to hurt Okaasan's feelings. All through dinner Suguru stole glances at Shindou-san, and he noticed that Shindou-san was in fact looking at him a lot too. There seemed to be some sort of tension between them that Suguru had never experienced before, and he had a feeling that this would only be the beginning of it. He had hardly even seen the tip of this iceberg.

He tried to engage in the general conversation and answered all of their questions as politely and accurately as he could, but his focus was on something else. He was more aware of Shindou-san than of anything else in the room. He needed to find out what all this meant or he would go crazy.

When they had finished dinner Shindou-san went back upstairs to his room, and Suguru wanted to go with him but Maiko stayed behind so he kind of had to stay downstairs, too. He could not just excuse himself and go upstairs without a good reason, and he needed to go up there alone. He needed to speak with Shindou-san alone. And if he went upstairs Maiko would most probably go with him. Maybe she'd even force him into her room to make out or something... and for some reason he didn't feel like that at all. Oh, what a dilemma!

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him when they had sat down on the sofa in the living room. "You seem a bit nervous."

Suguru nodded. "Yeah, a bit. I mean, it's my first time meeting your parents and everything... you know."

"Yes, I understand," she assured him, though she could not understand what he felt at all at that moment. But he just could not tell her what was really on his mind, because he really did not want to hurt her. She had been his first love, after all.

_Hang on just a minute!_ he thought to himself. _What do I mean 'she **was** my first love'? Does that mean that I'm not in love with her anymore? Does it... does it even mean that I've fallen in love with Shindou-san instead?_ It was too much for him to handle, and he excused himself and said that he needed to go to the bathroom. He splashed his face with cold water and studied his own pale face in the mirror over the washbasin. Was he falling in love with Maiko's brother?

When he came out of the bathroom Maiko was preparing the DVD player. "What are you doing?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a smile. "I thought we could sing some karaoke," she told him. "We're a real music family, you see, and we all love karaoke! It's like a family tradition, and we can't just overlook because we have a guest here today." She put her arms around his waist, and his first impulse was to coldly push her away. Luckily he managed to control his impulses before causing a scene. "Why don't you run upstairs and fetch your new friends and then we can all have a karaoke contest? If you manage to win I might just give you a _really_ special prize..."

Here was his chance to see Shindou-san tête-à-tête, just the two of them, and he did not hesitate a moment before taking it. He hurried upstairs and over to the door with the "KEEP OUT!" sign. He knocked hard. "Shindou-san?"

Shindou-san opened the door immediately, almost as if he'd been standing just on the other side of it all this time, waiting for him to come, and grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him inside the room. With the door closed behind Suguru's back Shindou-san pressed his lips to Suguru's, startling the younger boy. The kiss only lasted a second or two, then Shindou-san pulled away from him slightly and watched him in anticipation.

Suguru just stared at him, shocked. He had not expected _that_ to happen, and he did not know how to react to it.

Shindou-san started to get nervous and fidgety. He scratched the back of his head and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself, I should'n've..."

But Suguru silenced him by throwing himself at him and kissing him back. Shindou-san reacted immediately and put his arms around Suguru's slender back, pressing him closer to him. Suguru lost himself completely in the kiss and greedily opened his mouth to captured Shindou-san's tongue with his. Butterflies were swirling around in his stomach and his entire body was tingling with a whole new energy. During his dates with Maiko he had, at times, felt very excited and hot for her, but the way his body instantly began to ache for Shindou-san was something totally new and puzzling. He pressed ever closer, letting his hands travel up and down Shindou-san's back, and he even grabbed his ass once. That made Shindou-san let out a startled noise, but then he reciprocated by grabbing Suguru's buttocks and squeazing them slightly, teasingly. Several minutes seemed to pass before they could restrain themselves and pull away from each other, panting and hot and baffled at what had just happened between them.

"Shindou-san..." Suguru began, but the other boy quickly shook his head.

"Shuichi," he said. "Call me Shuichi."

"Shuichi," Suguru repeated, trying out the name with his tongue and vocal cords. "Look, I don't know what this is or what any of it means, but... but I feel that I definitely want to see you again, and I want to know more about you. Does that make any sense?"

Shuichi gently caressed his cheek. "It makes all the sense in the world," he said confidently. "And I feel the same way. It's just that... you're dating my sister."

Suguru sighed. "I know."

"But look, how about this: We leave it at this for the time being, and you continue to see Maiko as if nothing ever happened. Take some time to think about this and what you want. Okay? Then you come to see me and let me know, okay?"

Suguru nodded. "Um, Maiko wants us to do karaoke..."

Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Figured as much. Okay, I'll come down in a few minutes. I need to cool down a bit first." He winked at Suguru.

Suguru laughed. "Yeah, wish I could do the same before going back down there. Okay, see you in a bit."

He went back downstairs to Maiko, and shame burned on his face. He hoped she would not notice anything different about him or anything. She did not seem to suspect anything, fortunately. And even though he really tried to concentrate on _her_ and nothing else, his gaze kept shifting to Shuichi's.

_God, what have I gotten myself into!?_

* * *

**_That's the first chapter, everyone! Thank you so much for reading, please take a minute or two to review! ;) I'll work hard to get the second chapter up as soon as possible! Until then... Sayounara! Love, Piper_**


	2. Big plans, Big smile, Big love

**Big plans, Big smile, Big love**

The right pocket of his shorts seemed to burn against his leg - the pocket in which he always kept his cellular phone. He was constantly aware of the small phone's presence, and the fact that it could ring at any moment - and he was of course expecting a certain someone to place a call to him... Ever since yesterday night, when he had first met Fujisaki Suguru, the two years younger boy was all that could fit into his mind, it seemed. He could think of nothing else, and that sort of made it even harder for him to stay focused in class, let alone understand what the hell the teacher was talking about. Ever since he was a little kid he'd had problems with concentration and comprehension in class, because the subjects simply did not interest the least. And he was hardly the type of person who effortlessly went through school with good grades without ever having to study.

Like Hiro. Nakano Hiroshi had been his best friend ever since grade school when they first happened to be in the same class. Now, in their last year of high school, they were tighter than ever, all their differences notwithstanding. Shuichi probably was the luckiest dumbass in school, because he had the best study buddy to help him whenever he did not understand something! Hiro also helped him to get back down to earth whenever he lost control over himself - which happened _very_ often...

As usual after school they were sitting in the park drinking hot coffee out of cans, Hiro bent forward on the bench with his elows resting on his knees and Shuichi on the ground with his back resting against the bench. They watched a couple kids playing ball on the grass a hundred yards away. Shuichi was lost in reminiscences of yesterday. The kiss they had shared...

A smile curved his lips.

Hiro studied him thoughtfully. "You seem sort of different today, Shuichi," he commented.

Shuichi looked up at him for a second. "You think?"

"Yeah, definitely. Did something happen that you didn't tell me about? Hell, if I didn't know you better I'd come to the conclusion that you've gone and gotten yourself a girlfriend!"

Hiro was right. It was kind of out of character for Shuichi to show interest in relationships or romance. When every other boy at school spent their breaks running after pretty girls and desperately attempting to impress them to become one of those few godlike creatures who had a girlfriend to make them _bento_ Shuichi used his time to work on one of his lyrics. Sometimes he even went to the trouble of carrying his keyboard to school to be able to continue his composing during the breaks. He showed no interest whatsoever in girls, and up until now he had always thought that it was because they reminded him of his sister, Maiko. That he was unable to engage himself in anything with a girl because he thought too much about his own sister and her annoying "moments", as he preferred to call them. He'd always thought that he was afraid of other girls being just like his sister was, which did not make much sense at all, because he knew that all boys were not necessarily clones just because they were all _boys_. Nonetheless he'd had no interest in getting to know girls at all.

_But was it really because of my sister?_ he now thought to himself. _Or was there another reason? Did I discover it yesterday? That I'm in fact... gay?_

He chuckled at the irony of it.

Hiro frowned. "What? _Have you_ met someone?"

Shuichi shrugged dismissively. "Something like that." He looked down at his half-empty can. Swirled the coffee around a bit, as if it was in fact a good wine that he was about to smell before drinking it. "But it's complicated."

That statement made Hiro raise his eyebrows in bafflement. "It's complicated? What do you mean? Things have never been 'complicated' for you before, you've just gone all in without even looking at your cards, because you've always been a hundred per cent confident that no one can beat your aces."

"Heeee?!" Shuichi made a weird face. "What does that mean?"

"It was a poker analogy."

Shuichi's eyes seemed to shrink into tiny black dots. "What's an analogy?"

Hiro opened his mouth to reply, but then he gave up on the idea. "Never mind. What I'm trying to say is that you've always been fired up about anything's that caught your interest, and you've never before let anything stand in the way of your will before..."

Shuichi nodded slowly. He was feeling a bit down, actually. "I know, Hiro," he said, "but this time it's my own sister who's the main obstacle... That sort of changes things a bit."

Hiro frowned. "Your sister? What? You fell in love with her best friend or something? Girls often claim their best friends are off limits to brothers..."

Shuichi was about to shake his head in protest, but then he noticed a familiar figure further down the path in the park and immediately stiffened. Should he call out or should he let it go...? Well, maybe he'd been able to strain himself and suppress his personality last night when his sister was downstairs and could have found out what was going on, but now there was no stopping him. He flew up from the ground and began to jump up and down with his arms flailing about, and his face open wide in a happy smile. "_SUGURU! Over here!_"

Hiro jumped at his loud voice.

The figure stopped dead and its tracks, and after a few seconds of struggle with its conscience turned around towards the sound of Shuichi's voice. Once they had made eyecontact he could not get away. Shuichi was still jumping up and down, giggling childishly, and waving his right hand at Suguru in happiness. To happen upon him at the park like this...! It was a dream come true!

Suguru came up to them, looking slightly shy and insecure because of Hiro's presence there. But he smiled vaguely as he met Shuichi's gaze. "Hello, Shindou-san," he said. "I didn't think you..."

"Suguru!" Shuichi threw himself around Suguru's neck in hyper happiness and hugged him tightly for a couple seconds before letting go of him again, shocking the poor boy. "How are you!? Oh, I'm so happy to see you again! I've missed you!"

Suguru blinked a few times before answering. "Um, I'm fine," he said slowly. He glanced at Hiro nervously. "I-imagine meeting you here..."

"Do you come here often?" Shuichi asked with interest.

"Um, yeah, it happens." Suguru squirmed. He didn't seem to be completely comfortable with Shuichi standing so close to him in public. "I sometimes take this route home from school..."

"Really?! Us too!" Shuichi exclaimed happily. Then he remembered that he hadn't introduced him to Hiro yet. "Ah, _suman_! This is Hiro, my best friend. He's the guy I told you about." He quickly turned to Hiro and made a sweeping gesture at the younger boy. "And this is Suguru, my..." He stopped short. Yeah, what _was_ he to him actually? "My... my sister's boyfriend," he concluded, his spirits sinking instantly as the cold, harsh truth hit him. Suguru was his sister's boyfriend. He could never be his, because it was wrong. If what Hiro said about girls and their best friends was true, then what would Maiko say if he got together with her _boyfriend_?! That had to be _beyond_ off limits!

Suguru bowed to Hiro. "_Hajimemashite_, I'm Fujisaki Suguru. I am the boyfriend of your friend's sister, we met yesterday evening as I was invited over for dinner at their house. Nice to meet you. Shuichi has spoken well of you."

Hiro looked from Suguru to Shuichi, then back. He seemed to be trying to assess the situation and just what kind of relationship these two boys _really_ had. He knew Shuichi better than anyone, so he was bound to figure out the truth even if they went to extremes to put on a misleading display to hide their true feelings for each other. "Has he really?" he said, and it was more of a statement than a question. Then he sort of collected himself and bowed back at Suguru. "Nice to meet you too, Fujisaki-kun. Any friend of Shuichi's is my friend. _Yoroshiku._" He glared at Shuichi.

_Oh yeah, he knows._

Suguru cleared his throat nervously and stared down at the ground. "Well, maybe I should get going... my cousin is expecting me home, and... and I have loads of homework..."

Shuichi lit up. "Oh! You live with your cousin, right? How is that?"

Suguru chuckled nervously. "Well, he's twice my age so it's not like we're friends or anything..."

An idea was taking form inside Shuichi's head, and he knew that it was risky and all, but that didn't matter to him. If Suguru was living with his cousin, and that particular cousin worked a lot...

Before he could say anything else Suguru had bowed anew to Hiro and murmured that he would excuse himself now. His spirits sinking again he realized that Suguru was about to leave. The younger boy turned to meet his eyes one last time before going, and for a few precious, wonderful moments he was allowed to look deep into those warm brown eyes and thought he could read both reluctance to leave and a burning desire to spend more time with Shuichi. Alone, perchance? "Goodbye, Shindou-san," he said, and turned on his heels.

Shuichi watched him go with a growing longing inside his heart. Letting Suguru go like that was the hardest thing he had done yet in his life, and he wished that that boy could have been anything but the boyfriend of his own sister. He wished that he could have had the priviligue to meet him first, to claim him as his first. Because as things were now he was bound to hurt one of the people that he cared for the most.

Hiro was watching him with a dark expression on his face. "Let me get this straight," he said, "you've fallen in love with your sister's _boyfriend_?"

Shuichi looked at him and knew at once that it was no idea to deny it. "_Hai_," he said quietly.

Hiro shook his head. "What a mess you've gotten yourself into, Shuichi," he stated. "And how does he feel about you?"

Shuichi bit his lower lip. "I think he feels the same way," he confessed. "We, uh... We kissed last night."

"_What?!_"

"I know, it was bad of me to lose my judgment like that. But I just couldn't help myself! I mean, did you see him? He's gorgeous!"

Hiro frowned. "No, I didn't really see it. Maybe you haven't realized, but I'm straight."

Shuichi moaned defeatedly and sank down on the ground with his hands on his head. "Oh, I don't get why this is happening! All I know is that I liked that kiss and that I want more! But that's bad! It's _wrong_! He's my sister's boyfriend... and I love him."

Hiro put a hand on his back and patted him. "It'll be all right. And remember, whatever happens I'm still here for you, straight or gay."

Shuichi immediately shot up from the ground, his eyes splurting tears and his hands in tight fists. "Oh, but what if I'm bi then, Hiro? Will you not stand by me then? Huh? Will you not be my friend if I'm bi?"

Hiro smiled at him and shook his head in resignation. "Idiot, of course I'll be your friend, even if you _are_ bi."

"_Hontou ni_?" (Really?)

"Yeah, really."

That made Shuichi happy again.

* * *

**_Hi again guys! Second chapter's up, and I hope you like it! :D As you can see, this chapter is written from Shuichi's point of view, because I had this original idea that I would write every other chapter from Su-chan's p.o.v. and every other from Shu-chan's p.o.v. But I don't know if that will be the case, though. It totally depends on where this story goes. :P_**

**_Thank you so much for reading, and keep those reviews coming! ;) It helps me become a better writer, and it also gets me an inside view at what you guys want to get out of this story. See ya again in chapter 3! Love, Piper_**


	3. In the mode for love

**In the Mode for love**

He took her hand in his and brought her out on the floor as the slightly cheesy powerballad reached its peak and the hearts of youngsters devoured by huuuge problems that in fact were miiinor problems beat a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, because they knew that they were about to get the slow dance of their lives. She smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat in response, thought not because he found her attractive or felt yet another step closer to finally losing his virginity to the prettiest girl in Tokyo, but because she looked so utterly innocent, so honest, so happy. It broke his heart, knowing that she was living her teenage dream, dancing with the boy she loved, while the boy she loved was in fact, deep within his heart, wishing that he'd been dancing with her brother instead.

Nothing in life was ever simple; it would have been disappointing if it were. But nonetheless Suguru wished that he could have been given a get-out-of-jail-free card. It would have been so much better if he'd had the guts to tell her the truth and face the music. Then he would have at least been able to contact Shuichi with a clean conscience. But as things were now... with her smiling that broadly and happily at him... he just could not tell her.

_I'm a jerk_, he thought, disgusted with himself. _I care nothing about her best interest, do I? If I had, I sure as hell never would have gotten myself involved with her brother in the first place. And besides - where does it leave me? I'm in love with a guy, for fuck's sake! How does that add up!? Or, wait... maybe it isn't so weird, by the way. My own cousin pines for a man, after all... Maybe it's hereditary?_

Four days. Four days of agony. Of Longing. Of confusion. Every waking minute of every hour of every day he had waited for his mobile to ring, and every time it did he had achingly longed for the voice at the other end of the line to be Shuichi's. And every time he had been mortally disappointed. His cousin had noticed the change in him, and many times asked him if he was okay. "Yes," was Suguru's eternal answer - to everything. He hardly even registered the questions anymore. And every day when he sat at his keyboard he found it extremely hard to find the right notes. It was as if meeting Shuichi had put a stopper in his creativity, and he suspected that it would not come out as long as he denied himself what he longed for the most.

At night he dreamt about Shuichi's body, the way he imagined it beneath those colorful T-shirts and shorts of his. He dreamt about making love to him, because there was no other word that could adequately describe what they did in his dreams. In the morning, when he woke up, he always grabbed his mobile and half dialed the number before realizing what he was actually doing. After that, he just sat there on the edge of his bed, staring at the small phone. Was he or was he not?

"Hey," Maiko said, and stroked his jawline with one tender finger. "You seem rather distant - is everything okay?"

Suguru blushed. He'd done it again! "Um, yeah. Of course, everything is all right. Sorry."

She laughed and traced his lips with her fingertips. "That's okay, my little daydreamer. I think I know what's occupying you..."

_No, you don't._

"... and I know it's only natural for a guy to think about that, but I think it's a little too soon for that, so I guess you'll just have to be patient and wait just a little while longer," she finished smugly.

He blinked. "What?" Then he gave a start. She was talking about sex! She thought he was being distant because he was daydreaming about sleeping with her! That realization actually made Suguru a bit queasy. For some reason it disgusted him to even _think_ about having sex with her, something that surprised him since he'd been dating her for more than two months now and it was merely natural to think about sex at that stage. Well, he _was_ thinking about sex, just not with _her_ ...

She leaned in closer and put her head on his shoulder. He moved automatically, like a robot, to the slow music and firmed his grip on her back. "I love being with you, Suguru," she murmured against his shirt. "You're so laid back and upfront. There's no surprises with you. I like that."

Those words made his heart sink, and he felt like a total asshole. _Yeah, I'm all honesty - no ugly surprises here..._

_Ri-ri-ri!_ Suguru jumped high into the air. The mobile! It was finally ringing! He fumbled with his pants pocket and flipped the phone open. _Shuichi Calling._ He gave a shriek. "Oh my God, it's him!" he exclaimed in a sort of happy panic.

Maiko furled her brows. "Who? Su-kun? Are you okay? Has something happened?"

He looked up at her, his urgency shining through. "I'm sorry Maiko, but I really need to take this call, excuse me!" He turned on his heel and ran into the adjacent room and shut the door with a _Bang!_ behind himself. There, he took a deep breath and pressed the _Yes_ button. "Moshi moshi?" he said nervously, his entire body shaking with anticipation.

"_Suguru, hey... Sorry for breaking the silence, but I just couldn't wait any longer, I had to hear your voice..._"

Suguru became so relieved that he laughed. "Oh, I am so glad you called! I've been waiting like crazy ever since I saw you at the park. I mean, I know we agreed to let things be for a while, but... I couldn't stop thinking about you."

It was silent for a moment. "_I couldn't stop thinking about you either. I have to see you. Can you meet me somewhere?_"

Suguru fidgeted. He wanted to yell _Yes! Yes! Yes!_ and run over to the rendezvous point at once, but Maiko was still in the other room, he was supposed to be hanging out with her today, and even though he wasn't particularly enjoying himself they _were_ kind of having a good time, so...

There was a soft knock on the door. "Suguru?"

He jerked. Uh-oh. "Ehhh, ehrm... yes?" he called, sweat running down his face now.

"_Who's there?_" Shuichi wondered at the other end of the line, suspicion in his voice. "_Are you with Maiko?_"

"Um... ah... _hai_," Suguru confessed, scared half to death that Shuichi would get mad at him and never want to speak with him again.

"Suguru, I'm sorry but I have to go!" Maiko was calling through the door. "Mom just called, she needs a hand with dinner because her sister and her family are coming to visit, and things are rather stressful over there, so... Sorry!"

Suguru had never felt happier in his life. "Oh! Okay!" he called back. "No worries! You go and help your _Okaasan_, and I'll call you later, okay?" She replied with an _Okay_, and then she was gone. Suguru was grinning sheepishly when he was alone again. "Shuichi... I just got an opening in my schedule," he informed the other boy happily, and he could immediately sense the smile on Shuichi's face. "_Is that so? Lovely. Then maybe I can come to your place...?_"

Suguru's heart instantly began to pound a techno-rhythm _doki-doki-doki_ that created an eerie susurration in his ears. "Yes, please come to my place," he found himself saying with his mind full of dream recollections, "I'll give you the address."

* * *

He had arranged the candles all around the room and killed all the lights; he wanted the mood to be perfect. It had already gone dark outside, so the living room was now really cosy. He had even made a trail of live candles that led up the stairs to Suguru's room, because he had a feeling that they were about to realize his innermost dreams this very night. Feeling a bit mischievous, he took out one of his cousin's bottles of Merlot and two wine glasses and put them on the living room table. He also put together a tray of snacks for them; high quality cheeses, green and red grapes, dark chocolate, crackers. His cousin was a gourmet, and Suguru had inherited his like in quality foods.

When he felt finished with his creation he put his hands together and quickly rubbed them against one another, nervous and wondering if there was something that needed perfection before the guest arrived. It was important that everything was perfect the first time Shuichi came to visit. Good thing his cousin was staying late at the office that night. Feeling slightly panicked, knowing that Shuichi was getting closer by the minute, Suguru ran back and forth in the room, checking so that everything looked okay, then he ran up the stairs to check his bedroom. Yes, the bed was neatly made and no, there were no embarrassing pictures of him or anything else that could make him out as a fool in Shuichi's eyes. Although he doubted that Shuichi would ever be able to think of him, or anyone else, as a fool...

The doorbell rang.

_Oh, shit! He's here already!_

Suguru ran down the stairs and over to the front door, where he stopped to breathe. He needed to wait for his breathing to slow somewhat before he could open the door, which resulted in Shuichi ringing the bell three times more before he opened to greet him. When the door finally swung open, Shuichi looked up with a quizzical look on his face and met Suguru's excited gaze. He looked so incredibly handsome in his regular blue jeans, green jumper and black vest, and his hair looked styled for the occasion. So dark black it seemed to be made of the night behind and above him... and his eyes were the stars...

"Hi Suguru," he said with a happy smile, and his eyes glistened in the candle light.

"Hi," Suguru replied and stepped back. "Please come in and make yourself at home."

"Ojamashimasu." (Thank you for having me.)

Shuichi crossed the threshold and kicked his shoes off. Then he neatly put them on the shoe shelf and stuck his feet in a pair of indoor sandals that Suguru had prepared. They went into the living room, and Shuichi studied it with curiosity. "Your cousin has a very neat home," he pointed out, and it felt like something he was saying for lack of something better to say. Suguru was so nervous that he only said "Uh-huh" in response, and he silently wondered if Shuichi was nervous too, because the other boy didn't seem the least bit unnerved; he looked totally calm, cool.

Suguru went over to the stereo to put on some music.

When the first song started to play, Shuichi gave a start. "You like Depeche Mode, too, Suguru?" he asked, pleasantly surprised as the tones of _Enjoy the Silence_ filled the room.

"Yes," Suguru answered, and was amused at Shuichi's way of pronouncing the name as "deppechi moodo". "I was introduced to them as a very little boy. I didn't think you'd know of them, though..."

Shuichi came up to him, slyly and very suggestively. "There are lots of things we have in common, you and I," he said in a soft, meaning voice. Suguru realized that he was about to embrace him and kiss him, and his nervousness became twice as bad. He did not know what to do, how to react, if he even should react at all! Maybe he should just let Shuichi do whatever he wanted to him? Maybe that was the best way of going about this making love business? Let Shuichi have his way with him?

The other boy looked him deep into the eyes, seemed to ask him if it was okay for him to go on. Suguru did not know exactly what his eyes were signalling at that moment, and that too made him increasingly more nervous. So he effectively cleared his throat and said, "Maybe we should have a seat. Would you like some wine?"

Shuichi looked disappointed, and Suguru hated himself for doing that to him, but he was just so nervous! All he could think about was that he most probably was going to have his sexual debut that very night, and Shuichi seemed so experienced in everything that it sort of scared Suguru. He poured them wine in silence, and after a while Shuichi sat down next to him on the sofa. He took the glass that Suguru was handing over to him. "Will your cousin be okay with us taking this wine?" he asked, staring at the glass.

"Don't worry," Suguru said, "we usually drink together, so he won't be mad or anything. He can easily buy more, haha." Ah, it was better to just shut up and drink and hope that the alcohol would make him interesting, or at least a bit silly so Shuichi could get something to laugh at.

Shuichi shrugged and tasted the wine. "Mmmm, this is really good!" he then said, a wide smile suddenly on his lips. "Aaaahh, it feels so good to be sitting here drinking with you, Suguru! Don't you think so?"

Suguru laughed. If he hadn't known that Shuichi had only taken one sip at the wine he would have thought that he was a bit drunk already... "Yes, it is," he agreed, and a certain warmth spread within him. Yes, it did feel awfully good sitting there together with him, and there was nowhere else he would rather be. Everything felt so... right... with Shuichi. And he guessed that he was feeling so nervous because it _did_ feel right; it scared him. This was completely different from when he was falling in love with Maiko; this was much stronger, much more _real_. Watching Shuichi's genuine enthusiasm over the snacks and his obvious delight when he liked the taste of something made him laugh. "Right now you remind me of someone my cousin knows..." he commented.

Shuichi stopped dead with his mouth full of cheese and crackers. "Oh, weally?" he wondered, slightly muffled by all the food that was stuck in his mouth.

"Yeah, you do."

After a few glasses of wine all nervousness had lifted, and they were having a great time, talking and laughing loudly. Suguru felt so calm together with Shuichi; he felt like he could be himself with him without ever having to fear being judged or mocked for it. It felt so good.

Shuichi put down his glass on the table, then took the glass out of Suguru's hand and put that down to. "You look so damned cute tonight, Suguru," he said with a kinky smile and moved closer to the younger boy.

Suguru only laughed. "You don't look so bad yourself," he said. Thanks to the wine he felt ready for whatever Shuichi could have in mind - Hell, he even _wanted _Shuichi to suggest that they go to bed together! He was getting a bit horny...

Shuichi leaned in and pressed his lips to Suguru's, and at the same time he put his hand on Suguru's arm. Suguru immediately moved in closer and opened his mouth to welcome Shuichi's tongue if it felt like giving him a visit. And it did! Tipsy from the alcohol, Suguru leaned in too much, and his weight made Shuichi lose his balance. They fell down, Suguru on top of Shuichi, their lips still pressed against one another's. Suguru crawled up into Shuichi's arms, and Shuichi immediately embraced him, let his hands travel up Suguru's back inside his shirt. There was something very stiff and pulsating in his jeans...

"Mmmmmm," Suguru murmured and buried his hand in Shuichi's jet black hair.

"Nnnnng, take this off," Shuichi said, pulling at Suguru's shirt.

He shook his head. "No, let's go upstairs first," he said.

Shuichi nodded agreement, and they got up from the sofa. When they were on their feet again, Suguru could see the place where Shuichi's jeans curved and the sight made him want him even more. He took the other boy's hand and hurried over to the stairs. They were laughing as they ascended to the second floor and went over to Suguru's bedroom. The candles were still burning in there. Shuichi pushed him down onto the bed; there was no time to pull away the covers. As they were quite drunk, both of them, and quite inexperienced at that, there was a lot of fumbling going on. Shuichi struggled with Suguru's shirt, which did not seem to want to get pulled over his head, and this made the boys laugh hysterically. When Suguru's head finally emerged beyond the fabric his hair was standing on end and sparkling with electricity. "Naisu hee-a katto (nice hair cut)," Shuichi complimented him teasingly and kissed him.

"Rakki, rakki, rakki man desu!! (I'm Lucky, lucky, lucky man!!)" Suguru replied, and a new fit of laughter made them convulse for a few seconds.

"Yes, you certainly are!" Shuichi agreed. "Because right now I'm gonna do _this_!" He ripped Suguru's pants off in one draw. When the younger boy's boxers were revealed he whistled approvingly. "Whoa, Suguru-kun... you've got a tower going there!"

Although they had had a great time up until then, laughing together and making out and being as close as two people could be without melting into one single being, Suguru suddenly started to hesitate when Shuichi put his hands on his slender hips, about to grab the elastic of his tight boxers and pull them off as well. His heart unexpectedly began to pound with emotions completely different from the ones he had just experienced. Fear was rising from deep within him, like vomit of the soul. Not a very beautiful analogy, admittedly, but that's how it felt. And he did not understand why. Why did he feel like that all of a sudden? Why was he afraid? This was Shuichi! The person that he loved, no matter how absurd that was, the person that he felt certain that he wanted to spend his life with, for crying out loud! So why was he suddenly afraid of making love to him?

To his great chagrin, he could feel his body starting to tremble slightly, and he quietly wished that Shuichi would not notice. He would be mortified if Shuichi thought he was scared of him.

Then, to his utter surprise, Shuichi's hands stopped dead and trembled for a short while. He looked down at the slightly older boy, blinking in bafflement. Why had he stopped? He did not want him to stop. Despite his current hesitation he still _wanted_ Shuichi to continue, no matter what. He studied the other boy. The expression on Shuichi's face was hard to read. His brows were slightly furrowed, but he was smiling, although his eyes were not quite smiling with his lips. Such a strange expression... Was something wrong?

"Daijoubu?" (Are you all right?) he asked, worried.

Shuichi met his eyes. There was a thin film of sweat on his beautiful face. "Yeah," he said after a short pause. "I'm okay. I just..."

Suguru frowned at him. His heart was racing now, but the reason for this was that he was afraid that Shuichi would say that he couldn't do this, that he could not be with Suguru because he was actually disgusted by the very thought of being any kind of intimate with another boy and that everything that they had shared up until then had in fact been a temporary lapse of judgment. His heart sinking into depths he had never thought even existed, he looked into Shuichi's warm brown eyes and felt that he had to ask him - ask him what he was to him, if he really cared about him, if he really loved him. But no words came out of his half-open mouth: He was too afraid of the answer to even ask the question.

"Maybe we should think this throught before doing it," Shuichi finally said, and made Suguru's heart stop for a short while that felt like an eternity, because to Suguru it was as if Shuichi had just confirmed all his irrational suspicions. He looked Suguru deep in the eyes, as if searching for something. Then he bit his lower lip. "I mean, we don't have to do this right now, if one of us is feeling a bit uncertain... I mean, we have all the time in the world, right? We don't have to go all the way on our first date, right? Maybe... maybe we are rushing things. What do you think?"

Suguru blinked sheepishly, utterly confused by the things Shuichi had just said, because they did not at all match the suspicions that had just plagued his heart so mercilessly. So... he wasn't disgusted by him then? He really liked him and wanted to be with him? He was just hesitating about sleeping together on the very first date? But then... that meant that he was actually quite the gentleman... Suguru immediately felt embarrassed about his prior thoughts.

A smile of relief broke through. "Oh..." he said, laughing a little. "Yeah, I see your point... and you're right, we don't have to do this unless we both really want to... we can wait. Right?"

Shuichi laughed a little too, nervously. "It's good that you understand. Actually... I'm a bit scared about doing this. You know... sex." He turned his face away from Suguru when he said the last word, blushing crimson, as if he was embarrassed about even saying it. That surprised Suguru.

"You're scared?" he asked, disbelievingly, but sounding merely puzzled.

Shuichi chuckled bitterly. "You're surprised?"

"Yes!" Suguru said, maybe a little too forcefully, and blushed. "I mean... it's natural that I'm scared since I'm a vi-- it's my first time," he corrected, suddenly afraid to use the word "virgin" in case Shuichi would laugh at him. "But I didn't think you could be scared, because you seemed so calm and confident all the time when we made out, and you seemed so experienced..."

"Experienced?!" Shuichi laughed. "Me?! No, no, no! I'm as new at this as you are, Suguru. I've never dated before... so how could I have had sex before?"

That only made Suguru more confused. "You've never... ?"

A simple shake of the head.

They were silent for a while. Then Suguru began to laugh with relief. "Oh, that really takes the pressure off," he said, smiling up at Shuichi, who was sitting half on top of him. "I'm glad we don't have to rush into this, that we can both agree to wait until we're ready."

"Yeah," Shuichi agreed, smiling with his entire face, a smile so beautiful and lively and glowing that Suguru just wanted to pinch it and kiss it and caress it, until time stopped. He took a firm grip on Shuichi's shoulders and pulled him down towards him. He joined their lips in a tender, soft kiss.

Shuichi moved closer, snuggling up against Suguru's body, and invited the younger boy's tongue to a hot tango. His hands slid over Suguru's body, making him moan and whimper encouragingly, wordlessly telling him to go on, please go on. Suddenly all their fears seemed to have been blown away; their confessing to each other that they were scared had made them certain about each other, and it had soothed them and made it easier for them to accept that they wanted each other, that they desired to make love to each other. And that made it okay. Thanks to that, they could finally relax and let their hearts guide them through the strong currents of love that were currently washing them away from the calm shore.

Suguru was completely lost in his lover's touch, his kiss, and his smell. The sensation of skin against skin, a wet tongue on his chest, trembling fingertips out to find his sensitive spots and give him more pleasure. He let out a small shout of approval when Shuichi finally pulled off his boxer and exposed his erection. For a second he wondered what Shuichi would do now. Would he do anything with it? Or would they simply join at once? Which one would be on top? How were they gonna do it? He wondered if Shuichi was wondering about the same things as he was when he got his answer. Shuichi took the initiative and gently raised Suguru's lower body slightly, then he carefully began to push inside him. A cry escaped him.

"Does it hurt?" Shuichi asked worriedly.

Suguru swiftly shook his head. "Don't mind that, it will go away, it's just because it's the first time, right? Right?"

"Yeah, I guess it ought to hurt a little the first time... But tell me if it hurts and you want me to stop, okay? 'Cause I'll stop, I don't want to hurt you." He kissed Suguru's knees. "I never wanna hurt you." He pushed a little further inside, and Suguru gasped. "I want to take care of you, make you happy, give your life meaning - for as long as I live. I wanna share everything with you, Suguru. Everything." He slowly, carefully began to move inside Suguru, and the first few thrusts hurt a bit and made Suguru stiffen involuntarily, but then the pain began to go away and was replaced by pleasure instead. Up until then, he had never thought about sex, never fantasized about it, not even when he entered puberty, because he had always regarded sex as something superfluous, something that was profoundly overestimated and promoted as something vital, something that people needed to live, but he had never bought it. He had thought that it was just something people did out of necessity, to have children and make sure that the family name was secured for the next generation as well. But now... now he realized how wrong he had been in thinking that. Having sex with someone you loved... _making love_ to the person you cared the most about... it was _wonderful._ Indescribable. And he knew that this was the beginning of many, many more sessions of love-making: They had opened a door that could never again be closed, because the feelings that surged through him with Shuichi inside him were highly addictive - nature's own super drug.

"Oh, Suguru..." Shuichi murmured close to his ear. "You're lovely... absolutely lovely..."

He moved his hand to Suguru's manhood and closed his fingers around it. That move alone finished Suguru. He came with an explosion of confusing feelings that made him scream out loud and throw his head back. Because he had never even masturbated he couldn't last more than a couple minutes, that was understandable, yet he was mortified at coming so soon, worried that Shuichi would think he was lame or annoying.

But to his surprise Shuichi said, "_Chikusho (Damn)_", and let out a few weird exhalations followed by a pathetic whimper, and then Suguru felt something hot inside of him. Blinking sheepishly, he looked up into Shuichi's face, which was flushed and sweaty, his eyes squeazed shut and his mouth open in a silent cry. What had just happened to him?

Some twenty seconds later, Shuichi opened his eyes and looked at Suguru. He smiled. Such a lovely smile... "Damn it, Suguru..." he said, panting, "I couldn't hold it in when you screamed like that... it was so fucking _hot_..." He laughed a little, then he fell down beside Suguru and snuggled up close to him, putting his head on Suguru's shoulder. A happy sigh escaped him. "I think we have to make this a regular occurence, because I don't think I'll be able to go a day without you this close to me. I have totally fallen in love with you, and I want to be with you all the time..."

When he said that, it was as if something broke inside Suguru - but not in a negative way. Suddenly he felt a weird, tinkling feeling rise up from the pit of his stomach and quickly spread through his body, and then his eyes began to water. Baffled, he realized that the walls he had set up around his heart so long ago had been attacked by Shuichi's words and finally crumpled to a pile of dust that his body quickly disposed of. Simply by being with him, showing him that it was in fact possible to be loved just the way he was, Shuichi had effectively broken down his defenses and enabled him to let love into his heart, unconditionally and competely.

With tears silently streaming down his face, he whispered, "Arigatou."

Shuichi looked confused and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could even utter one syllable there was a loud bang from downstairs: The front door had been slammed shut. Refelxively, they both turned their heads towards the door to Suguru's room, which they had left ajar.

"Tadaima!" (I'm home!) Suguru's cousin called in a tired and irritated voice, and a series of loud noises could be heard from downstairs as he made his way through the house after a long day at work.

Suguru sat up straight in bed, panicking. "But he wasn't supposed to be home until tomorrow!" he hissed in a low voice to make sure that it did not carry downstairs to his cousin's apt ears. He looked at Shuichi with plain, stark fear. "What are we gonna do?! He can't see you here, he thinks I'm in love with your sister!"

Shuichi sat up, too, and immediately slid across the mattress to the edge of the bed, where he double over and grabbed his clothes from the floor. As silently as he could, but quickly as hell, he dressed, and Suguru decided to follow his example. Once they were dressed came another problem: How would they get Shuichi out of there without his cousin noticing?

"Suguru?" came his cousin's voice from downstairs. "You home?"

And then he started walking up the stairs!

Panicking, Suguru felt as if he was going to faint. What should he do, what should he do?! They were going to be found out!

"I'll go out the window," Shuichi whispered and went over to the window, which had been partly open all day because it had been so hot. Suguru's obsessively neat desk was standing under the window, so it was very easy for him to climb up onto the window sill and go out the window. Meanwhile, Suguru tried his best to un-rumple the sheets in order to hide his late-evening pastime from his cousin's scrutinizing eyes. It was always difficult to hide _anything_ from him because he was so perceptive. But this time it just _had_ to work.

"I'll call you," Shuichi said before disappearing out the window. Suguru nodded, then he threw himself down on his back on the bed and grabbed whatever was closest - a music magazine - and pretended to be reading.

Seguchi Touma appeared in the doorway just a few seconds later. "Oh, so you were home," he stated.

Suguru looked up from his magazine and tried his best not to look nervous. "Oh, hi," he said, as if he had just noticed him. "I didn't hear you come in." Shit, maybe that was a stupid thing to say considering the amazing amount of noise his cousin had made upon his arrival home? He seldom made any noise at all, but that particular evening it had been quite difficult _not_ to hear him come in...

Touma frowned. "You didn't hear me come in?" he repeated and did not sound convinced. "Was Maiko here this evening?"

Suguru started. "Yeah," he said, surprised by the question, "why?"

"I saw the wine glasses and the tray of snacks downstairs."

Dammit! He had totally forgotten about the wine!

He started to sweat.

Touma gazed over at the open window. "Did she just go out the window?"

"What?! No. Why do you ask that?"

Touma met his gaze anew, and this time he smiled knowingly. "You naughty boy," he said and shook his head. "Ah, well, I remember how it was to be a teenager. Just make sure you protect yourselves." He made to leave, but then, as an after-thought, he turned back and said, "By the way, your magazine's upside down..." Then he left, a smug smile on his face.

Suguru looked down at his _Myojo_ and noticed that it actually was upside down.

Damn...

* * *

**_Hi guys! Back with a new chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'm finding it hard to find time for my writing now that I'm working so much, so please be patient and wait for my updates, all right? Because they will come eventually. ;)_**

**_And I'd just like to make a comment on the phrase "Ojamashimasu"... It is what people in Japan say when they step inside someone else's home, and it means "I'm causing you trouble" / "I am causing you an inconvenience"._**

**_Until the next chapter... Have a great time!! :D  
Love, Piper_**


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